car town

Daytona International Speedway has been using ShopTabís Facebook Shop since March of 2011. During that short period of time, they have seen their social interactions and Facebook Shop visits grow dramatically. Not only are they a well-known national brand that draws in the highly passionate racing audience to their page but they also do a fantastic job of getting to know their fans through continued engagement. They understand the unique value for participating in social networks and creating new experiences based on the nature of this channel.

Great marketing organizations realize that social media efforts will require a clear strategy and measured success in hard ROI. Daytonaís team has been very focused on driving up overall website visits and using Facebook as a quality source for this traffic.† Since 2009, their referrals from Facebook alone to their website for race information, merchandise purchases and ticket sales have exploded, as noted below.

Tell us a little bit about your company:

Daytona International Speedway is the home of “The Great American Race” — the Daytona 500. The Daytona 500 is the biggest, richest and most prestigious race in America and annually kicks off the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Although the Daytona 500 garners most of the attention, the enormous 480-acre motorsports complex boasts the most diverse schedule of racing on the globe — earning it the title of “World Center of Racing.Ē

Why do you feel clients buy from you?

Clients buy from Daytona International Speedway because the track is incredibly rich in history and coming here to watch a race is an experience unlike any other in the world.

What do you feel sets you apart from your competitors?

The variety of races held at Daytona International Speedway appeal to a diverse group of race fans and sports enthusiasts all over the world. There is something for everyone and events are held year-round. From NASCAR and GRAND-AM racing in February and July to motorcycle racing in October and March there is never a dull moment.

When did you start engaging with clients in social networks like Facebook and Twitter?

We launched our twitteraccount on 5/13/2009 and while we had a Facebook accountwith a small following prior to 2009 we didnít have an active plan for engagement until about the same time we launched our twitter account in May of 2009.

How has your thinking changed in terms of using social marketing?

While our social marketing approach continues to evolve, one idea remains the same. We continue to maintain a strong focus on being where our fans are, and currently our fans are on social media. Using social media as a marketing tool has given us a new way to connect with fans on a more personal level.

What are your biggest lessons and success stories

It is important to provide consistent reminders to a growing social audience that tickets can be purchased using the ShopTab Store so they are aware that this user-friendly feature is available throughout the year for all of the race events held at Daytona International Speedway.

Why did you decide to deploy a Facebook store with your social marketing?

Our main goal is to sell tickets. It seemed like a huge miss not to include that side of our business on the social front.

What have you learned about engaging your fans with you Facebook store?

Fans are buying. If they are not buying, they are at the very least clicking and gathering information about our events.

How do you gauge success with social commerce and your overall social marketing?

We refer back to the following goals: Are we engaging our fans? Are we making connections? Are we providing them something of value that only we can deliver? If we can answer yes to these questions then I think we are experiencing success.

Is there one program, campaign or tactic that provides a good story for the impact of social marketing for your organization that you can share?

Car Town, a game that allows users to race at DIS and build their own customized garage, has resulted in a steady stream of traffic to the DIS Facebook page due to the inclusion of a like button within the gaming platform.

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Are there any brands, companies or experts that you follow to help you improve your strategies and tactics? If yes, why do you focus on them?

From what Iíve read, a lot of big brands have pulled out of social eCommerce stores because they werenít seeing any results. Weíre seeing results with minimal effort on our end. Shop Tab makes the process easy for both the business and the consumer. Itís a win/win for us.

We really appreciate the opportunity to learn from Joann Mantovani, the Senior Manager of Advertising and Promotions, and Lane Gauntt, Interactive Marketing Specialist at Daytona International Speedway. How can you learn from their successful focus of making sure they are where their customers are?